Project MOM: Move On Molly
by thenineteenninetyfive
Summary: [Previous Title was Project HMMO] Sherlock has finally had enough of Molly's attempts at a romance with him so he enlists the help of the Watsons, who actually have a plan of their own. So when a makeover is thrown in and a supposed non-existent date becomes existent, how long can Sherlock actually push through with this project of his?
1. Author's Note

Hello dear readers!

So, I've finally decided to continue with this story. I know that it's been two years... or was it three? Anyway, I wasn't able to update for such a long time since school was in the way and my laptop was _not_ cooperating. I still thank you for reading the story, giving me feedback, following it and adding it to your favorites list! It honestly means so much. So with that, I will be editing some parts of the story and hopefully, I'll be able to post new chapters after this editing phase. I hope that you'll be excited with this story's comeback! I'll definitely do my best to make it enjoyable!

PS. I'm sorry if you were expecting a chapter. I just wanted to explain what's been happening for these past two slash three years! I'll make it up to you, don't worry.

Lots of love,

Li


	2. Chapter 01: PIER

**Hi guys! It's been so long since I've actually written and posted something here but well, I hope I'm not too late. **

**Old Title: Project H.M.M.O.**

**New Title: Project M.O.M. [Move On Molly]**

**Description: **[Previous Title was Project HMMO] Sherlock has finally had enough of Molly's attempts at a romance with him so he enlists the help of the Watsons, who actually have a plan of their own. So when a makeover is thrown in and a supposed non-existent date becomes existent, how long can Sherlock actually push through with this project of his?

**Disclaimer: I would have loved it if they were mine, but alas, they are not. But at least this story is!**

**...**

**PROJECT M.O.M.**

**CHAPTER 01: P.I.E.R. [ PLAN IS EN ROUTE ]**

**...**

Molly was silent as she walked up to him, with his coffee at hand. She pursed her lips and gave him a moment with the specimen he was analyzing before she cleared her throat.

"Yes?" Sherlock said, with a hint of impatience in his tone.

"Coffee," Molly managed to sputter out despite the lack of coherent sentences in her mind.

"On the table," he replied, not looking up from the microscope.

"What?"

"Put the coffee on the table… and thank you," he replied, still unmoving.

Molly did as she was told and preceded to the other end of the table. She was currently looking at a cross-section of a bone, which she guessed belonged to a man who was in his late sixties due to some cracks and the obvious lack of calcium in it. She sighed as she removed the specimen and jotted down on the logbook what she had found out. Sherlock was still unmoving but he was muttering things under his breath. She caught glimpses of him and while she did, he knew that she was watching him.

'_Oh for the love of… she keeps staring. Why must she bother with it when she knows that I'm not going to look at her?' _He said inwardly. _'I need Mary... or John.'_

After an hour more, Sherlock finally stood up and left. Molly's stomach dropped because he didn't even said goodbye. _'Well, he's Sherlock Holmes and you're just a pathologist he works with. Nothing more.' _A voice at the back of her head said.

"Are you joking?" Mary asked, dumbfounded.

"What? Of course not, Mary. _You_, more than anyone, _know _that I am not interested in pursuing romance with her… or rather, anybody. I cannot love. It's a concept that is quite perplexing to me," Sherlock explained, his hands below his chin.

They were currently having dinner- with John, of course. His best friend sat still, analyzing what he just said and gave Mary a look.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, John! Must I really help him with this?" she said softly.

"Well, Mary, it can't be helped. Sherlock says that he cannot feel anything remotely near to love so why must Molly go through all the pain and suffering it holds?" John replied, giving her a small smile.

"Alright, so basically, the plan is to help Molly move on from Sherlock? So he doesn't get bothered?" she reiterated, looking at Sherlock slowly.

"Yes, dear," John replied.

"Now, _that's_ out of the way, what shall we have for dessert?" Sherlock said happily.

...

Molly wore her white lab gown as usual and pulled her hair up in a ponytail. There were more specimens to be archived now so she had to finish with the tray of slides that were on her left side. She was now looking at a lining of a stomach that was owned by a person who had excessive hydrochloric acid in his or her stomach. She fidgeted when she looked at the clock. It was half-past eleven and Sherlock hasn't been to St. Bart's all morning.

So when the door swung open, though she was pleasantly surprised to see Mary, she was a bit let down due to the lack of Sherlock Holmes. Mary noticed her brief disappointment and smiled inwardly. _'Molly's feelings are a bit deeper than she might have anticipated.'_

"Hello, Molly. We're going shopping," she said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Shopping? I've got work to do and all these specimens to-" Molly was cut off when she saw Sherlock and John standing beside Mary. "Umm, what's going on?" she added.

"We'll be taking over for now, Molly," John said, grinning.

"I will be quite thorough, Molly. Must I include the gender, sex and age of the different specimens you have here?" Sherlock asked her whilst putting on some gloves.

"Oh, umm… there's no need, actually. Mary, what- what's happening? Why are we going shopping? I mean, I can't let Sherlock and John do all my work here," she mumbled on.

"But I'll still include it in your logbook… for the sake of it," Sherlock replied, not bothering to see whether Molly was actually listening.

"Mary insisted on taking you out since it's her only free time," John interceded and gave both his friend and his wife a slight nudge towards the door.

"Oh come on, Molly. We'll have fun, I'm sure," Mary insisted. Without much more prodding from the others, Molly hung her lab gown on the rack and got her bag from her own locker.

...

The department store was thrice the size of her apartment and she was gawking at everything shiny or sparkly. Molly couldn't believe her ears once Mary said that she would pay for anything that she bought. Mary heaved a sigh and couldn't quite get over the fact that Sherlock was quite invested in this little plan of his. He even gave her the shopping money that was to be spent on this little expedition of theirs.

Mary loved Molly to bits but she did cringe at her fashion choices. Molly started making her way towards a striped pink and brown cardigan and was holding it up for Mary to see. Mary prayed quietly to help her get through the shopping trip with ease. She got the hanger from Molly's grip and placed it back on the rack.

"Not that one then?" Molly asked and Mary laughed.

"Oh, Molly. I'm spending for this shopping trip so I'm going to teach you a bit about fashion, yes?" she replied, grinning. She was only able to reply with a small smile.

The both of them headed towards the dress section and Molly stopped in her tracks.

"What wrong?" Mary asked, turning towards her.

"I don't think I'd be able to carry off something like this while going to work," she said.

"The dress?"

"Yeah, the dress. I only wear them for special occasions," she replied.

"I'll teach you how to carry it off, Molly. You'll see. All you need are the right accessories, actually," Mary said, nodding her head.

"I'll trust you on this one, Mary."

A navy blue, A-line dress quickly caught Mary's eyes so she got it off the rack and handed it to Molly. Once she saw an emerald colored, knee-length dress, she handed it to her too. To the ordinary person, it would've looked like Molly was a rather hopeless personal assistant to Mary, due to all the dresses that she was holding. Once Mary decided that it was enough, she took half the hangers from Molly and they both went to the changing room. Molly hung all the clothes on the movable rack and shut the door.

"You have to show me every dress you try on, okay?" Mary called out.

"You sound like my mother," she replied and it gained her another laugh from Mary.

"I'd like to think that I was practicing for a daughter… or a child someday."

Molly's eyes softened. As she stared at herself in the mirror, she was astonished to see that the woman looking right back at her was, in some way, beautiful. The blue hue of the dress brought out her eyes and it suddenly made her thrilled to try out the next ones in line for her to try on.

She unlatched the door and allowed Mary to see her. She had a wonderful expression on her face. Mary was giddy.

"I knew that dress would bring out your eyes!" she said gladly. "You should try the others on too," she added.

After a few more fittings, Molly was sure that Mary had purchased a whole wardrobe worth of clothes. She felt flustered once Mary rejected her attempt to pay for the clothes by herself.

"Oh nonsense, Molly. I called you out here so I should pay!" she said.

"Thank you for today, Mary."

"You're welcome. Now, would you like me to teach you in your place or our place?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, what?" Molly said, her eyes wide as saucers. "Teach me what now?" she added to her question.

"Our place it is," she said.

"What? No! I cannot possibly… John might be there! Let's do the teaching thing in my place."

...

John and Sherlock were finished archiving the slides by three forty five pm so they headed to Sherlock's place. Mrs. Hudson was glad to see the both of them so she brought up some tea from downstairs.

"Oh, Mrs. Hudson! Do you have some cookies to go along with this?" Sherlock called out.

"I'm not your housekeeper, dear!" she replied before closing the door. After a few more minutes though, she brought up a fresh batch of cookies for them.

"So do you think your plan will work?" John asked, sipping his tea.

"_Obviously_, John. The common logic is to take a girl, give her a new set of wardrobe, apply heaps of make-up, teach her to flirt and voila! She will have a new man in a few weeks. Well, at least, that's what happened in most movies I have analyzed," Sherlock replied.

"But wouldn't the man she like fall in love with her as well?" John asked innocently and it made Sherlock's eyebrow go up. "Well, I'm just saying that in those movies you've analyzed, the man that the girl likes is one of the men who falls for her as well," he added.

"Well, _I'm_ an exception. I don't fall in love so if ever our heroine of the story, Molly, would transform into a fine-looking lady, I think that I'd be unaffected," he replied in a matter of factly tone.

'_Oh well, we'd see about that'_ John said in his head, grinning slyly.

...

**So, I need feedback guys! What do you think so far? Please don't hesitate to leave a review. Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 02: OMG

**Thank you to each and every one of you who reviewed, followed and clicked "favorite"! I'm so glad that you decided to do that so now, this is the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: NOT MINE. I WISH THEY WERE. **

...

**PROJECT M.O.M.**

**CHAPTER 02: O.M.G. [ OH MOLLY'S GORGEOUS! ] **

...

Now see, Molly was quite ashamed as to how her place looked like in the presence of Mary. There were a bunch of opened but unfinished cookie wrappers on top of her table, some cups and plates that haven't been washed and several coats that haven't been sent to the dryer.

'_Oops, I forgot about these,'_ she said, mentally scolding herself while trying to clear out a space for Mary to sit.

Toby, her cat, managed to sit himself beside Mary and surprisingly, cuddled up to her quite a bit. This earned him a chuckle from Mary.

"I suppose that this is Toby then?" Mary said, ruffling his fur a bit.

"Yeah, that's him. A charming fella," she replied, putting down all the shopping bags.

Molly made her way to her room and brought a full-bodied mirror to the receiving room where Mary was. She wiped it with a cloth before settling down.

"So, Mary, what's this teaching thing again?" Molly said, her gaze narrowing a bit at her friend.

"Well, great clothes need some great styling and well, good and clean make-up-" she started, but was cut off by Molly's raised eyebrow. "Well, _not_ that there's anything wrong with the shades you use, darling," Mary quickly rebutted.

"No, okay… I get that. But what's _really_ happening with this makeover and this lesson? I mean, what's all this for?" she replied, her eyebrows meeting at the middle.

'_Isn't it obvious, darling? IT'S TO MAKE SHERLOCK HOLMES SEE YOU AS A WOMAN,'_ Mary screamed internally.

"Well, it's just a little nudge from my part to… widen your sea of fish… in the dating world… if you know what I mean," she said, giving a little wink.

"Oh, well, this isn't a nudge anymore, Mary. This is quite a push you're giving me," she replied with a small laugh. "But still, thank you."

Mary gave her a smile and started to remove the clothes from the shopping bags. She started sorting them out into three groups: casual, work and formal. She suddenly gave Molly a lecture on color matching, hues and shades, the color wheel and print combinations.

About two hours later, Molly's head was spinning due to all the terms she had to remember. She had to remember that teal was different aquamarine. Teal was closer to the green side, therefore, making it better to go with some earthy tones while aquamarine was closer to the blue side, which made it better to go with the classic colors.

"And Molly, no matter how much you love the color yellow, _do not_ wear it from head to toe," Mary finally said, giving her a cheek to cheek kiss and bidding her goodbye.

...

Sherlock had left the Watson's for about four hours now. John heard a knock at the door and assumed it was Mary so he opened the door. He was greeted with an embrace and a peck on the lips.

"Hello, love. Anything interesting to share?" John said, taking off his wife's coat.

"Oh, this is marvelous, John. Molly's quite the looker once dressed smartly," she exclaimed happily.

"Well, that's good since Sherlock continues to deny the fact that he will not be able to love and all that nonsense. I mean, how can such a brilliant man be so _daft_ when it comes to things like these?" John said, exasperated.

"The smarter a person is, the dafter they are concerning the matters of the heart," Mary replied, shrugging a bit.

"Oh I see… No wait. Then what about everyone else? What about _us_? Are _we_ daft that's why we can understand the matters of the heart?" John replied, suddenly confused.

Mary laughed as her husband tried to logically explain the saying. "Geez, John! It's just a saying! Don't over-analyze it like Sherlock, darling," she said.

"What? I'm not over-analyzing anything!" he said in defense and she just laughed at him again.

"Oh come on, let's get to bed. I'm tired of reciting all the colors and hues of the color wheel," Mary said, yawning.

...

John knocked on the door of 221B and was greeted by Mrs. Hudson. She had a bright smile on her face.

"Oh hello, dear! I didn't know you were visiting today. Sherlock's upstairs as usual," she said, letting him in.

"How is he? I mean, any gun firing at all?"

"Oh, thank heavens no, John! Nothing of that sort. Actually, he's been sort of silent this week," Mrs. Hudson replied in a wistful tone. "Well, anyway, go on up. I'll bring you some scones and tea shortly."

Before he could even knock at his old door, he heard Sherlock's voice to come in. Sherlock was sitting on his chair and was in his thinking posture. He had his two hands under his chin, which was supported by the crossing of his legs.

"You've been quiet this week, Mrs. Hudson said," John started.

"I've been thinking about what you've said, John," he said quietly.

"What now? What _I've_ said?" he replied, shocked.

"Yes. So I have a brilliant idea!" Sherlock answered, suddenly standing up to face him.

Sherlock started to pace the room and mumbled some things to himself while his hands were animatedly snapping. John heaved a sigh and sat down on his old chair.

"Now, Sherlock. This brilliant plan of yours?" he said. Sherlock stopped and put both his hands behind his back before continuing to pace back and forth the room.

"You said that the man whom the heroine likes will fall in love with her yes?" he said and John grunted in affirmation.

"So that situation is currently where Molly, our heroine is. I am the man she likes and she hopes that I will fall in love with her. So, why not bring another variable in? In order to divert her unwanted attention from me, we _must_ have another variable! I thank _you_, John, for seeing the holes in this plot," Sherlock explained with a smile.

"Wait, _wait_. So, you're saying that this other variable… is another man? You'd let Molly see another man so that this crush of hers would be on him, instead of you… therefore, leaving you Molly-free?"

"Yes, yes. In more unpretentious and artless words, that is correct," he replied a bit distastefully.

"Oh."

'_This wasn't in the plan'_ he thought, thinking of Mary.

...

It was eight o' clock in the morning when Molly entered St. Bart's. She was quite confident in how she looked and she was sure that Mary would be proud of her clothing choices. She was in a V-neck, Bordeaux colored, long-sleeved wrap dress that hit until her knees and a pair of violet, pointy shoes. It was stylish, yet professional.

She sighed as she had to cover it up with her lab gown but she managed to cheer up since she was going to meet up with some of her old friends after work.

Suddenly, the door was opened and both Sherlock and John quickly went in. The moment she saw Sherlock, her shoulders and her neck seemed to have stretched out on their own and she smiled inwardly.

"You have someone male, mid-forty with a type of lettering tattoo on his left bicep muscle," Sherlock started. Molly was already on her heels before he even finished what he was saying and she quickly pulled out the man's body.

"Dexter Court, forty-five…" she said, looking for the tattoo at his left side. "… and well, there's the lettering tattoo… which says, 'calm'," she finished, controlling herself not to look at Sherlock since she might be unable to string a sentence again.

Sherlock was silent and was observing the woman who was standing infront of him. Her hair was in its usual ponytail but it accentuated her lovely neck. Well, the dress did wonders for her actually.

'_Mary did such a… splendid job. Molly actually looks… more suitable in looking for an appropriate significant other,'_ he said inwardly.

Sherlock cleared his throat and it earned him a curious gaze from Molly, whose cheeks were tinted with a slight red. Her burgundy lips were pursed for a bit but then a smile was seen after.

"Anything else then?" she said.

"Umm, no. Thank you, Molly," Sherlock said, before leaving the room. He was quite shaken and he didn't know the exact reason why. Mary had done an excellent job in bringing out Molly Hooper's very much hidden assets and she was calmer than before while talking to him.

'_Well, she wasn't really looking at me.'_

He heaved a sigh and brought his attention back to his case. While all those things were going on, John couldn't help but smile internally.

'_This is only the start, Sherlock. You should've seen your face earlier. All sorts of emotions passed through it without you even knowing.' _

Without much control, John managed to chuckle to himself a bit and it caught Sherlock's attention.

"What's so amusing, John?" he said, his hands dug deeper into his pockets.

"Oh nothing, Sherlock. It's just the tension in that room was quite… palpable," he said, leaving Sherlock quite speechless.

...

**That's it for now! Please do leave a review for this chapter! Thank you everyone x**


	4. Chapter 03: MIT

**Hello guys! Thank you so much for the reviews and your kind words! So a little note, in this "world", if you may call it, Molly hasn't had the confidence to move on from Sherlock (YET) and Mary and John are already married. This story has its own timeline/world. Sorry for the confusion. I'm sorry I can't reply to all comments personally (for now), but please know that I appreciate them! I also apologize for the late updates because college is really eating up my time but I'll try my best to update as soon as possible. I have major subjects to study for too, lol.**

**Anyway, here's the next part! Just leave a review again and I'll try to answer them if I can!**

…**..**

**PROJECT M.O.M.**

**Chapter 03: M.I.T. [ MOLLY IN TRAINING ]**

…**.**

It has been exactly three weeks, five days, seven hours, three minutes and twenty-two seconds since her transformation started. Why he counted, _that_ he didn't understand... yet. So as soon as their recent case ended, Sherlock headed home with only one thought in his mind- Molly Hooper. How Mary managed to bring out all Miss Hooper's assets in such a short amount of time was still a mystery to him but he assured himself that he was just surprised to see her transformation. She would now be able to get a new man and leave him to his peace- well, _that_ was the plan. He locked his hands and placed them under his chin, thinking once more.

Sherlock was seated, quite comfortably too, when there was a knock. He already knew it was John due to the sound that was made by his shoes, the exact moment he stepped foot into the house. He was able to distinguish the quiet tap of his cane and his slightly limp leg's walk. Sherlock didn't bother to move since he knew that John would let himself in- and _that_ he did.

"Sherlock," John greeted, making his way to his old seat.

"John," he replied. "Now, I believe that you are here for either two reasons," he started.

"Do enlighten me, Sherlock," his friend replied, with a small smirk on his face.

"It's either you've fought with Mary and need a place to stay… or you're here about Molly Hooper."

"I think you know that I haven't fought with Mary… so see, the reason why I'm here is…"

"Molly Hooper!" Sherlock said a bit too loudly.

"Yes, _her_. Now, will you accompany me to her date?" John replied, observing his actions.

"_Her date_? A _date_? I thought that it was a _friendly gathering_ of some sort?" Sherlock said, his eyebrows meeting at the middle.

Before John could put a word in, Sherlock added, "Wasn't it supposed to be a meet-up with her old friends from university?"

Sherlock was about to open his mouth once more when John put up his hand, silencing him.

"Now, what are you doing Sherlock, spouting questions non-stop? Are you feeling what I think you feel?" John asked, feigning a bit of innocence.

"Oh, out with it John. I am _not_ jealous. I don't know _how_ to feel jealous since I don't feel," he replied, putting on his coat.

"I didn't say you were. My mouth was shut the whole time."

...

Molly pursed her lips once more, making sure her coral shade lipstick was still intact. Her hair was in a half-pony of some sort and her dress was the epitome of springtime due to the beautifully hand-painted flowers that it bore.

For some reason, she wasn't feeling excited or happy. She wasn't looking forward to a date. She scoffed at herself thinking, _"You aren't feeling giddy for a date, Molly! Now that's a first!"_

She suddenly felt bad because she did agree to Mary's planned blind date for her. Mary was so excited because she knew that the guy was probably "The One" for Molly. She heaved a sigh and decided to suck it in. If Mary believed that this guy was her soul mate, how bad could it be?

Soon, she remembered the "talk" she had with both Mary and John regarding her love life.

...

"_Molly, you can't always be the one who puts in so much effort," Mary said._

"_But if you don't put in effort, nothing's going to work out, right?" she replied._

"_Yes, that is true. But let me give you this scenario. If you keep on putting in all this effort and the guy just isn't responding… what do you do?" Mary said._

"_Put in more effort! I'm obviously doing something wrong if he's not responding," Molly said._

"_No, Molly, see, that's where the problem lies. You're too nice for your own good. You need to step up for yourself sometimes. If the guy is treating you like shit, why would you take that?" John suddenly said. Mary, in return, nodded in agreement._

"_Then how am I supposed to 'step up' for myself?" she asked, putting her hands up for air quotation marks._

"_I'll give you a test so you can actually gauge how too nice and well, forgiving you can be," Mary said as she got a list from her bag. She threw it towards John's direction and he readily caught it._

"_So first question, what do you do when a person hits you with their cart several times but apologize every time they do it?" John said._

_Molly was about to speak when Mary cut her off. "There are choices, Molly. On with it, John!"_

"_A. Forgive them since they said sorry, B. Talk to them and put a space in between yourself and the cart."_

"_Obviously, letter A. They apologized!" Molly said._

"_What? Seriously Molly! No!" John said in a hopeless tone._

"_Honey, if they really were sorry, they wouldn't actually do that over and over again," Mary rationalized._

"_Alright, next question then!" Molly challenged._

"_Okay. A handsome guy has been acting like a douche all week. The next week, he is suddenly nice and asks you for a favor. Do you, A. Do the favor since he's been nice to you for the week or B. Ask him why he's nice to you all of a sudden before deciding whether or not to do the favor," John said._

"_A! He's handsome and he's been acting nice. He probably had a change of heart, right?" Molly said with a wide grin._

_John heaved a sigh and Mary's face was quite unexplainable. Molly quieted down and looked at her hands._

"_I'm quite hopeless with this, aren't I? I'm quite easy and I'm a pushover."_

_Mary quickly came to her side and patted her back._

"_No, Molly. We believe that you can stop being a pushover. So, John and I are here to help, okay? Just try and apply it, okay?"_

….

The Watsons took a seat inside the restaurant, waiting for both Sherlock and Molly to arrive. Mary had a huge smile on her face and was quite proud of the fact that her plan seemed to be working.

"Now love, I'm going to repeat this plan of yours, alright? Just to see if we're both on the same page," John said. Mary nodded.

"So you told Molly that she'd be on a blind date with a Ben Winchester, correct?"

"Yes."

"But is there_ really_ a Ben Winchester?" John's eyebrow was raised.

"No, my darling. I made up a fictional man to be her 'blind date' so that Sherlock would be intrigued and so that when all of us are gathered here, we can leave the two of them alone. Sherlock would probably wait with her," Molly said, grinning.

"But what will you tell her?"

"We'll just pretend that this fictional man is a doctor... And he'll be busy with his patients that's why he can't make it!" Mary answered, her eyes glinting of mischief.

"That's quite_ naughty_, my dear," he replied, smiling.

"Well..." Mary answered, smiling suggestively.

...

The wind was harsh on Molly's skin. It seemed like it was slapping her continuously so she put up the collars of her coat and walked a bit more briskly. The bustling restaurant finally met her eyes and for a while, it seemed like it was the only building on the whole block because of the intensity of all the lights. The restaurant had an industrial feel to it. Everything was modern and crisp but it did emit a certain warmth to it. She hesitated for a bit before finally entering. Once she entered, she was shocked to see John and Mary waving their hands in order to get her attention.

"Mary? John? What are you doing here? Are you chaperoning my date?" she said, which earned her a hearty laugh from Mary and a shrug from John.

"I am _not_ chaperoning your date because you do _not _have a date, Molly. I'm sorry. Ben said that he had a patient who needed immediate surgery so he got tied down. He can't make it." Mary said in an apologetic tone. Her eyes shifted towards her husband, clearly asking for back-up.

"He does apologize," John added with a small smile playing on his lips.

Molly heaved a sigh once more and turned the other way around, facing the door. She suddenly felt a familiar grip on her hand. Curious to see if her guess was correct, she turned and met the eyes of the famous Sherlock Holmes.

"Sherlock! What are you doing here?" she managed to squeak out.

"You can't leave Molly," Sherlock said.

"Yes, I can. I am quite grown-up, Sherlock. I can do what I want," she replied, much to the chagrin of the consulting detective. He cleared his throat and apologized to her.

"Alright, Mr. Holmes. I can stay. It's just a pity that my date wasn't able to make it. But anyway, I'm here to have fun, so let's go!" she said cheerfully.

Sherlock put his hands in his pocket and led her to her seat. While this was happening, the both of them didn't notice the smile that the Watsons were sharing.

…..

After dinner and dessert, the group decided to have drinks. But after two rounds, John and Mary had to excuse themselves since they needed an 'early start' for tomorrow. Sherlock's eyes were quickly searching for clues or indications whether the couple was lying or not. He was having a private analysis in his head.

'_Hmm, ironed, collared shirt, polished shoes and matching socks… he wasn't dragged here by Mary… but he was prepared for this dinner.'_

His eyes darted towards Mary.

'_Shiny hair, freshly manicured nails and appropriate dress… she's well prepared too.'_

Apparently, there was nothing remotely interesting about his analysis so he dropped it and both Sherlock and Molly bid the couple good-bye.

…

Outside the pub, Mary eyed the twosome inside very carefully. She knew that Sherlock was very sharp so she watched for a little while, very silently and inconspicuously. John saw what she was doing and chuckled a bit.

"I guess Sherlock and Molly can have some time alone now, right?" John teased.

"Well, there never was a Ben to begin with so…" Mary said, trailing off.

"So, I guess we can leave the both of them alone now," John finished.

"Do you think Sherlock will know that we actually set them up on a date right now?" John added as they both walked away.

"No. I was quite careful of that," Mary replied, smiling.

…...

Meanwhile, inside the pub, Sherlock and Molly were having a conversation when suddenly someone stopped right infront of their table. Molly was taken aback and so she looked at the man who caused the stir. But before she could speak, he already greeted her.

"Molly? I'm sorry for the delay… I'm Ben. Ben Winchester," he said.

Sherlock was stunned for a bit and analyzed the guy right infront of him. His raven black hair was slicked back and his skin color was quite pale. He was in a suit and the expensive kind too. It was Italian. The man's dark brown eyes met his and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Molly, I'm sorry to intrude but… is this…" the mysterious man said, trailing off.

"No! No! He's not my boyfriend or anything and we aren't on a date. It's okay, I understand. Mary said you had an emergency surgery, right?" Molly jumped in quickly, not giving any time for Sherlock to speak a coherent sentence.

Sherlock quickly stood up and got his coat off the back of his chair. He cleared his throat.

"Well, Molly, seeing that your date is here now, although quite _unpunctual_, I shall leave you two alone. Have a good night," he said, walking away from the table.

...

**I added a bit more since in the reviews, others were confused about this person's identity. So basically, Mary and John made up a guy who would be Molly's 'supposed date' because they wanted to make Sherlock jealous. But somehow, there's a mysterious man claiming to be Ben Winchester. Now, who exactly is this?**

**Please do review and leave me your thoughts. I'll try and update soon! (I'm keeping my word this time x)**

**-Li**


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